Most powerful': What's the Sarmat missile Russia has test-launched?

"President Vladimir Putin claims the RS-28 Sarmat's range is far beyond Western estimates. Russia has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile as part of its efforts to modernise its nuclear forces, and President Vladimir Putin has hailed the launch just days after his claim that the fighting in Ukraine is nearing an end. This is the most powerful missile in the world, Putin said of the Sarmat missile on Tuesday, adding that the combined power of its individually targeted warheads is more than four times that of any of its Western counterparts."

"Putin said the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile will enter combat service at the end of the year. It has been built to replace the ageing Soviet-built Voyevoda. The RS-28 Sarmat, called Satan II in the West, is an intercontinental ballistic missile a land-based guided missile designed for the delivery of nuclear weapons with a minimum range of 5,500km (about 3,400 miles)."

"Putin said on Tuesday that it has a maximum range of more than 35,000km (21,750 miles) far more than any of its Western counterparts and claimed it could penetrate all existing and future antimissile defence systems. Western analysts have estimated an actual maximum range of about 18,000km (11,000 miles), however. The missile has been in development since 2011 and will replace about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles."

"After Tuesday's test launch, Putin said the Sarmat one of a slew of new weapons that he unveiled in 2018 with the claim they would render any prospective US missile defences useless is as powerful as the Voyevoda but with higher precision. The Sarmat's maximum payload is 10 tonnes, according to an April 2024 report by the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank. The CSIS added that the Sarmat is 35.3 metres (116ft) long and 3 metres (9.8ft) in diameter and weighs 208.1 tonnes."

Russia tested the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile as part of nuclear forces modernization. President Vladimir Putin said the missile’s range exceeds Western estimates and that its individually targeted warheads deliver more than four times the power of Western counterparts. He claimed the Sarmat can penetrate existing and future antimissile defenses and said it will enter combat service at the end of the year. The missile is designed to replace aging Soviet-era Voyevoda missiles, with about 40 planned replacements. The Sarmat has a minimum range of 5,500 km and a claimed maximum range above 35,000 km, while Western analysts estimate about 18,000 km. Development began in 2011, and a September 2024 test reportedly ended in a large explosion.

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